1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to packers for loading articles such as plastic bottles into upwardly open cases or trays that are adapted to receive two or more side-by-side columns of such bottles in aligned rows. Line pressure from a conveyor moves the bottles across a ramp into a load station. Support for the bottles at the load station is preferably provided by side guides which engage shoulders on the bottles. The trays or cases move upwardly from below the path of the columns of bottles into the load station as disclosed in said U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,805. As disclosed therein, each tray is elevated slightly at its rear or aft end by a flight bar conveyor system that is used to synchronized the trays with movement of the bottles. In the present invention, an overhead flight bar lug conveyor system is also provided for inserting separator pegs between certain article rows to correspond to the gap required for filling the inline cases or trays. The side guides engage shoulders in the plastic bottles rather than neck ring guides for engaging the necks of the bottles as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,805.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,805 shows a system for loading plastic bottles into in line cases or trays wherein the articles are guided by neck ring guides and wherein rotating disks provided with projecting circumferentially spaced lugs move downwardly between the articles and more particularly between those articles which must be separated to accommodate the end panels of the in line cases. The prior art system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,805 suffers from the disadvantage that relatively soft plastic bottles which have been recently filled with a relatively hot liquid, such as fruit juice or the like, cannot be conveniently accommodated by these rotating disks to create the desired spacing between the article rows for accommodating the panels of the in line cases.
The general purpose of the present invention is to provide a packer capable of handling two or more columns of relatively soft plastic bottles and depositing these bottles into upwardly open in-line or end-to-end cases or trays. The bottles are relatively flexible as a result of the plastic bottle being heated by the hot liquid contained therein. Preferably, the bottles have shoulders defined between the neck and the bottom of the bottles which shoulders are engaged by side guides to support the articles as they are fed into the load station. Further, a lug conveyor system is provided for positively creating the desired gap between adjacent rows to accommodate the panels of the adjacent inline cases or trays.